Archive for April, 2010

What are you reading this week? is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week. This meme is hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World of Books.  I wasn’t able to get much reading done this week due to big things happening at home (you can read my post about the events here) but the one I did read I loved!  Now I just need to find time to write a review for it!!!

Books completed last week:

Storm Born – Richelle Mead

Books I gave up on:

 None

Books I am currently reading:

The Twenty Year Itch – Linda Kelsey
Hard Magic – Laura Anne Gilman

Up next:

The Step Mothers Support Group – Sam Baker

Hi everybody!!!

I haven’t been able to do much stuff on my blog this week and that is because of something pretty big that has happened:

I gave birth to my baby boy on Thursday 22nd April at 12.16pm.  He weighed 7lbs 6oz and came along after a quick 3.5 hour labour!!!

So here is a picture of little baby Callum:

I am hoping to participate in a few memes this week but I may not have time to visit and comment on other sites or write many reviews for a little while.

Take care everybody x

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Here’s what you have to do:

1. Grab your current read.

2. Open to a random page.

3. Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.

4. Be careful not to include spoilers.

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the books to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Storm Born by Richelle Mead.  I actually finished reading it late last night and haven’t started my next book yet so I thought I would pick a teaser from this one instead.

“Make no mistake, mistress.  I may protect you now, but as soon  as I have the chance, I will rip the flesh from your body and tear your bones apart.  I will ensure you suffer so gravely that you will beg me for death.  Yet, even then, your soul will not find relief.  I will torture it for all eternity.”
He spoke in a flat tone, not as a threat, but simply as a statement of fact.
Page 89-90

What is your Tuesday Teaser?

 

Publisher – Harlequin
Publication Date – February 2010
Paperback – 368 pages
Genre – Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Series – Book 1 of the Iron Fey Trilogy

Source – Received from publisher for review

Book Information - Meghan Chase has a secret destiny – one she could never have imagined.
Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six.  She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth – that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face, and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Review – Meghan has always been a bit of an outcast at school and if it wasn’t for her best friend, Robbie, she would be very lonely.  She thinks nothing of it when her four-year-old half brother, Ethan, keeps telling her of the  scary things in his closet and under his bed, and believes it is just his over-active imagination.  That is until she returns home from school on her sixteenth birthday and finds that Ethan has been kidnapped by faeries and has been replaced by an evil changeling that has hurt their Mum.  She also finds out that her friend Robbie is actually a faery called Puck who has been sent to look after her.  Together they travel to Nevernever in order to rescue Ethan and Meghan gets another shock – she finds out she is the daughter of the Faery King Oberon.  In order to rescue Ethan they must take on many different types of mythical creatures, including a previously unknown type of faery – the iron fey.
I really enjoyed the descriptions of all of the different types of creatures in Nevernever, although I must admit that there were so many of them that at times I felt as though my head was spinning.  My favourite character was Grimalkin, a Cait Sith, who was sarcastic, selfish, funny and completely disinterested in anything.  What made me laugh about him was that most of the things that came out of his mouth are the types of things that I think my cat would tell me if she could talk!
Meghan is a strong female who will do anything to protect the people she loves, even if it means putting herself at risk.  She is incredibly loyal and caring and I just loved her.  I enjoyed seeing the chemistry develop between her and Ash, a prince of the Winter Court.  Although he is cold and aloof with Meghan, you just can’t help but fall a little bit in love with him.  I look forward to seeing what happens between these two in future books in the trilogy.
There is a lot of action between the pages of this book and although this made for a good, fast-paced read, at times I did find myself wishing for some quieter moments in amongst all of this action.  But overall, I really enjoyed this book and found it a good mix of magic, romance and action.  I can’t wait to read the second part of this trilogy - The Iron Daughter.

Other books in the series:
1. The Iron King
2. The Iron Daughter (August 2010)
3. The Iron Queen (February 2011)

What are you reading this week? is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week. This meme is hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World of Books.

Books completed last week:

The Bad Queen – Carolyn Meyer
How to be Married – Polly Williams
The Iron King – Julie Kagawa

Books I gave up on:

 None

Books I am currently reading:

Storm Born – Richelle Mead

Up next:

Hard Magic – Laura Anne Gilman
The Twenty Year Itch – Linda Kelsey

 

 

Publisher– Piatkus Books
Publication Date – 3rd January 2008
Paperback – 336 pages
Genre – Urban Fantasy
Series– Book 1 in the Morgan Kingsley Series

Source – Library

Book Information - Morgan Kingsley, is an exorcist who precariously walks that fine line between heaven and hell. She lives in a world in which demons co-exist with humans.  Normally hailed as heroes, these demons can heal, help, and make strong the willing hosts who gladly accept their corporeal possession.  Unless a demon steps outside the boundaries of the law.  That’s where Morgan, comes in.  She is an expert in getting rogue demons to leave their unwilling hosts.  But now the unthinkable has happened: Morgan’s got a demon of her very own sharing – possibly overtaking – her body.  But this sexy beast is so enticing that he may tempt Morgan to re-evaluate her prejudice against demons – if he doesn’t get her killed first.  For a war is brewing in the demon realm, and Morgan has just been forced to take sides?

Review – Morgan Kingsley is an exorcist who eliminates illegal demons who have either taken over unwilling hosts or have acted violently towards others.  At the beginning of this book she attends an exorcism which goes wrong and the demon starts to enter her own body.  However, it quickly backs off and Morgan is confused about why the demon decided not to possess her after all.  Things start to get stranger for her when she starts to sleep walk and leaving herself written messages during the night.  The notes tell her that she is already hosting a demon and that is why the other demon left her alone.  The demon then starts to communicate with Morgan through her dreams and she finds out that there are others who want to see the demon inside her dead, even if that means that Morgan dies too.
What I liked most about this book is the world that the author creates.  I found it a very interesting concept that demons commonly possess bodies and that people are more than willing to allow this to happen.  The people who do host demons are often hailed as heroes as they are able to carry out brave acts without the risk of harming themselves.  For example,  Dominic is a demon-possessed fireman who is able to rescue a young girl from a burning building by jumping from the top of it.  Normally demons would be painted as the bad guys but that is not the case in this book, although there are many people who are also against the demons, including Morgan, who can only see the trouble that is caused by the illegal demons.
I think that Morgan is an amazing female lead character.  She is incredibly strong and determined and you can’t help but root for her in the battle against the demons.
Now onto the bad points.  There are many erotic scenes in this book, which doesn’t normally bother me.  However, many of these scenes were violent in nature and I felt quite uncomfortable reading them.  I also felt that there were too many S&M scenes and not all of them were essential to the storyline.  This really put me off of the book and although I did enjoy the overall storyline I don’t think I will be rushing out to get any of the other books in the series.

Other books in the series:
1. The Devil Inside
2. The Devil You Know
3. The Devil’s Due
4. Speak of the Devil
5. The Devil’s Playground

 

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  Every week I’ll post about what books I have received that week – either through the mail for review, borrowed from the library or bought.

Purchased:

Bree Despain – The Dark Divine

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared – the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in his own blood – but she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night held.
The memories her family has tried to bury resurface when Daniel returns, three years later, and enrolls in Grace and Jude’s high school.  Despite promising Jude she’ll stay away, Grace cannot deny her attraction to Daniel’s shocking artistic abilities, his way of getting her to look at the world from new angles, and the strange, hungry glint in his eyes.
The closer Grace gets to Daniel, the more she jeopardizes her life, as her actions stir resentment in Jude and drive him to embrace the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night.  Grace must discover the truth behind the boy’s dark secret… and the cure that can save the ones she loves.  But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it – her soul.

Rachel Caine – Dead Girl’s Dance

Claire has her share of challenges.  Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead.  On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad.  But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls’ Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

Won in a contest hosted by Book Chick City:

Megan Abbott – Bury Me Deep

In October 1931, a station agent found two large trunks abandoned in LA’s South Pacific Train Station.  What he found inside ignited one of the most scandalous tabloid sensations of the decade.  Inspired by this notorious true crime, Bury Me Deep is the story of Marion Seeley, a young woman abandoned in Phoenix by her husband.  At the medical clinic where she finds a job, Marion becomes fast friends with Louise, a vivacious nurse, and her roommate, Ginny. Before long, the demure Marion is swept up in the exuberant life of the girls, who supplement their scant income by entertaining the town’s most powerful men with wild parties.  At one of these events, Marion meets – and falls hard for – the charming Joe Lanigan, a local rogue and politician on the rise, whose ties to all three women bring events to a dramatic and deadly collision.

What was in your mailbox this week?

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City.  It is a chance for me to list a couple of books that are on my TBR list but that I don’t currently own.  There is only one book on my wishlist this week but I can’t wait to get my hands on it!  This week I finished reading ‘How to be Married’ by the same author (read my review here) and I absolutely loved it, so now I want to read some more of her books.

The Rise and Fall of a Yummy Mummy by Polly Williams

One woman’s struggle to fit back into her old self.  Amy Crane is in crisis.  Six months after the birth of her baby, Amy still looks pregnant and can’t remember the last time she had a wax, or an orgasm.  Motherhood is stirring up disturbing questions about her own childhood.  And she suspects her boyfriend is cheating.  Enter Alice, yummy mummy superior, on a mission to transform Amy’s body, and love life.  As Amy swaps breast pads for Botox and climbs out of a vortex of self-doubt, her libido awakens from its long nap and things get rather more complicated…

What is on your wishlist this week?

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has come up with a great new meme that I will be taking part in.  It follows in the spirit of Friday Follow but it is specifically for book bloggers! I am very excited about this blog hop as it will give me a chance to find out about lots of other book blogs that I might not have known about otherwise.

If you want to join in the fun, all you have to do is visit Crazy for Books and sign up with McLinky.  Then just have a look through the other blogs that are signed up and hopefully make lots of new bloggy friends!

If you find my site through the Book Blogger Hop leave a comment here and I will come and visit your blog.

Happy blog hopping x

 

Publisher – Headline Review
Publication Date – 4th March 2010
Paperback – 384 pages
Genre – Chick-Lit

Source – Received from publisher for review (Passed onto me from Book Chick City).

Book Information -Sadie Drew thinks she must be the world’s worst wife.  She only needs to walk into a room to make it untidy.  She wears flannel pyjamas in bed.  Furry things breed in her fridge.  But she’s a busy working mother not a wifebot and husband Tom loves her as she is.  Until he gets a hot new job and things change.  There are alpha-wives to entertain.  Nuclear rows.  Unsettling secrets.  And the smell of another woman’s perfume on his suit.  Sadie risks losing everything if she can’t transform herself into the perfect wife…
But what is a perfect wife anyway?

Review – Sadie knows that she is not a perfect wife or a domestic goddess, but she believes that this doesn’t matter.  However, things become strained between herself and her husband when he starts his new job and she realises that she is very different to the wives of Tom’s colleagues.  They all hold posh dinner parties, have immaculate homes and perfect marriages.  One day whilst taking a walk in the park Sadie gets hit on the head by a tree branch during a storm and she meets Enid, who looks after her after the accident.  Enid is a sprightly old lady who then employs Sadie as her florist.  They soon become friends and Enid starts to give Sadie advice on how to become the perfect wife.
However, Sadie soon begins to suspect that Tom isn’t being faithful.  He works until late most nights, comes home smelling of perfume and won’t look Sadie in the eye when he talks about his new, incredibly beautiful, client.  Sadie continues her efforts to be the perfect wife, but things soon come to a head between them and Sadie realises that it takes more than being able to make a trifle to save a marriage.
I loved Polly’s character in this book.  She perfectly demonstrates all of the pressures placed on women these days – being a domestic goddess and a perfect wife and mother, whilst still trying to hold down a job.  I loved that she is not perfect in all of these areas.  It makes her much more realistic and likeable and I could definitely relate to some of the scenes in the book where she is running around trying to do everything at once.  Tom, however, does not always come across as so likeable.  He always seems to be criticising Sadie and comparing her to his mother, who paints herself as the perfect wife and mother.  But at the end of the book, Tom seems much better able to communicate his feelings and it is not until this point that we learn what he has also been going through and can start to sympathise with him too.
I also really like Enid.  She is an intruiging character who, although always willing to give advice and get involved in other people’s lives, comes across as very mysterious and has many secrets that don’t come out until near the end.  The friendship between Sadie and Enid is very touching and seems to help both of the women through some tough times.
I really enjoyed this book and it had me laughing out loud at times, whilst also bringing me to tears a couple of times too.  The realistic characters meant that I was quickly drawn into the story and couldn’t wait to find out what happened to them.  I will definitely be looking out for other books by this author.

 

Publisher – Harcourt Children’s Books
Publication Date – 12th April 2010
Paperback – 432 pages
Genre – Young Adult/Historical Fiction

Source – Received from publisher for review

Book Information - History paints her as a shallow party girl, a spoiled fashionista, a callous ruler.  Perhaps no other royal has been so maligned – and so misunderstood – as Marie-Antoinette.
From the moment she was betrothed to the dauphin of France at age fourteen, perfection was demanded of Marie-Antoinette.  She tried to please everyone – courtiers, her young husband, the king, the French people – but often fell short of their expectations.  Desperate for affection and subjected to constant scrutiny, this spirited young woman can’t help but want to let loose with elaborate parties, scandalous fashions, and unimaginable luxuries.  But as Marie-Antoinette’s lifestyle gets ever more recklessly extravagant, the peasants of France are suffering from increasing poverty – and becoming outraged.  They want to make the queen pay.

Review – This is the story of Marie-Antoinette and takes us all the way through her life, from her childhood until her death.  At the age of fourteen she is betrothed to the future heir of the French throne.  From this time onwards nothing but perfection is expected from the young girl – she has to have her teeth straightened, learn perfect french, learn to dance and play music and learn all about the history and customs of the country that is to become her new home.
Once she arrives in France, Marie-Antoinette is unhappy.  She misses her family and home, her young husband is shy and hardly even looks at her, and she has trouble getting the one thing she wants most in the world – a baby.  She is incredibly lonely and starts surrounding herself with other young members of the court, which leads to her spending much money in the pursuit of happiness and to many unsavoury rumours being spread about how she spends her time and money.
Meanwhile, the rest of France is suffering from extreme poverty and seeing their Queen spending money lavishly only leads to feelings of resentment and anger.  Marie-Antoinette is advised by many people to try to curb her spending, and to change some of her other less agreeable habits, but this makes her feel rebellious and she continues to spend money as she pleases.  This ultimately leads to her downfall, as well as to that of the French monarchy.
I must admit that, although I have read quite a bit of historical fiction in the past, this is the first book I have read about Marie-Antoinette.  I found that she was written in a very sympathetic way and I ended up feeling quite sorry for her right from the start of the book.  There was a huge amount of pressure put on her from a very young age to be perfect and this often lead to her feeling as though she was not good enough.  She could never really live up to the expectations placed on her by her family, the French king or by the people of France and so in the end she just stopped trying.  However, I did get frustrated with her at several points during the book.  Although she is not portrayed as a bad person, it is obvious that she is quite  shallow and selfish as she has no knowledge or interest in the politics involved in being a queen or of the plight of the French people living all around her.  Instead she just continues to behave however she likes until the situation becomes too serious and can no longer be ignored.  But once things do come to a head with the French people, Marie-Antoinette changes and she becomes a strong and courageous woman who will stand by her husband no matter what.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book.  I found the descriptions of Marie-Antoinette’s life and the customs of a French court very interesting.  However, I think I would have liked there to be a bit more detail about what was happening outside of the court as this seemed to be lacking due to the fact that it was written from Marie-Antoinette’s point of view and she was more interested in fashion and entertainment.  But this is my only critisicm of the book and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for other books from the Young Royals series.

Other books in the series:
1. Mary, Bloody Mary
2. Beware Princess Elizabeth
3. Doomed Queen Anne
4. Patience, Princess Catherine
5. Duchessina
6. The Bad Queen

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Here’s what you have to do:

1. Grab your current read.

2. Open to a random page.

3. Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.

4. Be careful not to include spoilers.

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the books to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from How to be Married by Polly Williams:

I feel like she is talking a different language, a happy wife language from a world where wives throw networky dinner parties for their husbands.  The only thing I throw at Tom is his unwashed socks, perhaps the odd dinner plate.
Page 84

What is your Tuesday Teaser?

What are you reading this week? is a weekly event to list the books completed last week, the books currently being read, and the books to be finished this week. This meme is hosted by One Persons Journey Through a World of Books.

Books completed last week:

Her Vampire Husband – Michele Hauf
The Devil Inside – Jenna Black

Books I gave up on:

A Girl’s Guide to Vampires – Katie MacAlister
Hmmm, why did I give up on this one?  Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t dislike this book.   I was a few chapters in and I still wasn’t gripped by it and there are just a lot of books on my shelf that I wanted to read a lot more than I did this one.  So, I think I will put this one to the side for a time when I am more in the mood for it. Sorry Katie MacAlister fans! 

Books I am currently reading:

The Bad Queen – Carolyn Meyer
How to be Married – Polly Williams

Up next:

Storm Born – Richelle Mead
The Iron King – Julie Kagawa

Books I still need to write reviews on:

The Devil Inside – Jenna Black

 

Publisher – Simon & Schuster Children’s
Publication Date – 29th October 2009
Paperback – 224 pages
Genre – Young Adult/Urban Fantasy
Series– Book 1 in the Wake Series

Source – Library

Book Information – For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams at any given moment is getting tired.  Especially the falling dreams, and the standing-in-front-of-the-class-naked ones.  But then there are the nightmares, the ones that chill her to the bone… like the one where she is in a strange house… in a dirty kitchen… and a sinister monster that edges ever closer.  This is the nightmare that she keeps falling into, the one where, for the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche.  She is a participant…

Review – Wake is the story of a teenage girl who gets dragged into another persons dream if they happen to fall asleep somewhere near her.  This has been happening to Janie ever since she was eight years old and she is starting to get sick and tired of it.  Then she starts getting repeatedly dragged into somebody’s nightmare.  She finds out that these dreams belong to Cabel and they become friends, and they end up trying to help each other out with their problems.  Cabel had suffered at the hands of an abusive father (who is now dead) for many years, and Janie lives with an alcoholic mother.  They each have strong feelings for each other but things don’t go smoothly for them when Janie hears rumours that Cabel is sleeping with another girl at school and that he is dealing drugs.  However, Cabel soon reveals a big secret to Janie and she learns that not everything about him is as it appears.
When I heard the premise of this story, I thought it sounded like a great idea. However, once I started reading it I didn’t think that this great idea had been well executed.  I really didn’t like the style of writing used by the author.  The sentences were short and clipped, with very little emotion or description used. I know that from reading other reviews that many people believe that this style enhanced the storyline, but it just didn’t work for me.  The only plus side to this style of writing was that it made the book an incredibly quick read and I managed to finish it in less than a day.
Also, there was not much of a background story given for any of the characters and this meant that they became a bit one-dimensional for me.  I finished the book not really knowing much about the characters and not really caring about them either.
The final thing I would like to say about this book is that I didn’t enjoy the reveal of Cabel’s big secret near the end of the book.  I can’t say too much about why I didn’t like this bit as I don’t want to give away the secret for anybody who hasn’t read it yet, but it just seemed too contrived and unrealistic.
Overall, I think that it is a story that could have been great, if only it had been written  in a different style and had included more emotion and background into the characters.  But, written as it was, I just didn’t enjoy it.

Other book in the series:
1. Wake
2. Fade
3. Gone

 

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.  Every week I’ll post about what books I have received that week – either through the mail for review, borrowed from the library or bought.  I had another great week this week and I am starting to get seriously worried about the TBR mountain that is growing out of control!!!

For Review:

Polly Williams – How to be Married

Sadie Drew thinks she must be the world’s worst wife.  She only needs to walk into a room to make it untidy.  She wears flannel pyjamas in bed.  Furry things breed in her fridge.  But she’s a busy working mother not a wifebot and husband Tom loves her as she is.  Until he gets a hot new job and things change.  There are alpha-wives to entertain.  Nuclear rows.  Unsettling secrets.  And the smell of another woman’s perfume on his suit.  Sadie risks losing everything if she can’t transform herself into the perfect wife…
But what is a perfect wife anyway?

Linda Kelsey – The Twenty Year Itch

Can love survive long-term in the twenty-first century?  Julie is beginning to doubt it.  When her husband of twenty years announces that he is chucking his job to embark on an adult gap year leaving his salary and Julie behind, she puts her marriage under the microscope.
Turning to her friends for comfort and advice, Julie finds that their relationships are falling apart too.  Surely they can’t all be innocent victims?  Or all bad wives?  Is there no such thing as an enduring marriage?  Does that twenty-year itch just have to be scratched?
While this emotional maelstrom rages around her, meeting someone new is the last thing on Julie’s mind.  Until a chance encounter propels her onto a sexual collision course with a man who spells danger…

Sam Baker – The Step-Mothers’ Support Group

Eve has never imagined herself as a stepmother.  But when she falls in love with Ian, he comes with a ready-made family of three children.  And, to make matters worse, he’s a widower.  The ghost of his glamorous and well known wife haunts them.  Clare, a teacher and single mother, is Eve’s best friend.  She is the only person Eve can talk to about how on earth a journalist in her thirties can win round three wary children.  But despite Clare’s years of practice with her own teenage daughter, it’s Lily, her younger sister, who provides the truly sympathetic ear.  Mel is sent along to Eve’s so-called ’support group’ by a colleague.  With a fledgling relationship and a new business to get off the ground, she has a very different set of pressures to the other women.  And Mandy is the stay-at-home mum, whose relationship comes with stepchildren, and who wants more than anything to stitch together a happy family life for herself, her kids and her new step-kids.  As a cup of coffee turns to a bottle of wine and the get-togethers become a regular fixture, conversations about new families evolve into ones about relationships, life and each woman’s deepest hopes and dreams.  But the friendship is tested and feelings about lovers, husbands and step-children challenged when the five women are forced to confront new futures as well as unwelcome figures from the past…

From the Library:

Kelley Armstrong – Bitten

Elena Michaels is a model woman for the 21st century: self-assured, keenly intelligent, fighting fit.  And like every modern woman, she has her secrets.  Nothing extraordinary about that.  Except that Elena really is extraordinary.  In fact, she may well be the most extraordinary woman alive.  She is, after all, the only female werewolf in the world… Ten years ago, against her will, Elena’s lover turned her into a werewolf.  Some days it feels like a gift.  Most days it feels like a curse.  A year ago, she decided to live as a human.  Now she has to go back to New York State, her old home.  Her pack is under seige by a new group of violent, psychotic werewolves that shows no respect for the old ways, and no respect for territory.  Forced into helping her old friends, Elena soon slips back into the reassuring camaradarie of the pack, though she struggles against her dangerous, unpredictable desires.  Hunting down her enemies, Elena prowls through territories usually barred to women.  From dangerous back alleys to the dark, luscious forests of New York State, she must hunt and destroy the renegade pack before they destroy her.

Mary Janice Davidson – Undead and Unwed

It’s been a hell of a week for Betsy Taylor.  First she loses her job.  Then she’s killed in a freak accident only to wake up in a morgue to discover she’s a vampire.  On the plus side, being undead sure beats the alternative.  She now has superhuman strength and an unnatural effect on the opposite sex.  But what Betsy can’t handle is her new liquid diet…  And whilst her mother and best-friend are just relieved to find out that being dead doesn’t mean Betsy’s can’t visit, her new ‘night-time’ friends have the ridiculous idea that Betsy is the prophesied vampire queen.  The scrumptious Sinclair and his cohorts want her help in overthrowing the most obnoxious power-hungry vampire in five centuries.  (A Bella Lugosi wannabe who’s seen one to many B-movies.)  Frankly Betsy couldn’t care less about vamp politics.  But Sinclair and his followers have a powerful weapon in their arsenal – unlimited access to Manolo Blahnik’s Spring collection. Well, just because a girl’s dead – er undead – doesn’t mean she can’t have great shoes…

J.R. Ward – Dark Lover

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers.  There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood…  The only pure-bred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago.  But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed – orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or her fate – Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead…  Racked by a restlessness in her body that wasn’t there before, Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes.  His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her.  But his touch ignites a dawning hunger that threatens to consume them both…

Tanya Huff – Blood Price

It began with blood and death.  And Vicki Nelson, PI was at the scene.  The victim had been brutally, inhumanly opened up.  Messy work.  She’d had to cover the corpse with her coat.  It had sort of made her feel involved.  Now Vicki is caught up in the deadly pursuit of a mass murderer with an inhuman appetite for mayhem and destruction. And her advisor on the case is doing nothing to dampen her growing sense of foreboding.  But then, with a being of unspeakable evil stalking the city, only Vicki Nelson would ally herself to Henry Fitzroy, the illegitimate child of Henry VIII and a five-hundred-year-old vampire.

Colleen Gleason – The Rest Falls Away

Vampires have always lived among them, quietly attacking unsuspecting debutantes and dandified lords as well as hackney drivers and Bond Street milliners.  If not for the vampire slayers of the Gardella family, these immortal creatures would have long taken over the world.  In every generation, a Gardella is called to accept the family legacy, and this time, Victoria Gardella Grantworth is chosen, on the eve of her debut, to carry the stake.  But as she moves between the crush of ballrooms and dangerous, moonlit streets, Victoria’s heart is torn between London’s most eligible bachelor, the Marquess of Rockley, and her enigmatic ally, Sebastian Vioget.  And when she comes face to face with the most powerful vampire in history, Victoria must ultimately make the choice between duty and love.

What was in your mailbox this week?

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted by Book Chick City.  It is a chance for me to list a couple of books that are on my TBR list but that I don’t currently own.

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Growing up in the town of Sleepy Hollow, the mystery and intrigue over Washington Irving’s classic legend are all part of daily life for sixteen-year-old Abbey.  But when her best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Abbey’s world is suddenly turned upside down.  While everyone is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead, Abbey refuses to believe that she is really gone.  And when Abbey meets the gorgeous, but mysterious, Caspian at Kristen’s memorial she starts to feel like she has something to hold on to for the first time since Kristen’s disappearance.  But when Abbey finds a diary hidden in Kristen’s bedroom, she begins to question everything she thought she knew about her best friend.  How could Kristen have kept silent about so much?  And could this secret have led to her disappearance or even her death?  Hurt and angry at Kristen’s betrayal, Abbey turns to Caspian for support… and uncovers a frightening truth about him that threatens both their emerging love and her sanity…

The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

A prodigal son.  A dangerous love.  Haunted yearning… Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood.  Now that Daniel’s returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother.  As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations.  First, she has no soul.  Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead.  Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.  Where to go from there?  From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire – and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.  With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London’s high society?  Or will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing?  Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

What’s on your wishlist this week?

Jennifer from Crazy for Books has come up with a great new meme that I will be taking part in.  It follows in the spirit of Friday Follow but it is specifically for book bloggers! I am very excited about this blog hop as it will give me a chance to find out about lots of other book blogs that I might not have known about otherwise.

If you want to join in the fun, all you have to do is visit Crazy for Books and sign up with McLinky.  Then just have a look through the other blogs that are signed up and hopefully make lots of new bloggy friends!

If you find my site through the Book Blogger Hop leave a comment here and I will come and visit your blog.

Happy blog hopping x

 

Publisher – Harlequin
Publication Date – 1st April 2010
Paperback – 368 pages
Genre – Paranormal Romance

Source – Received from publisher for review

Book Information - She may resist his bite, but she can’t resist his charms.
Werewolf princess Blu Masterson won’t allow her seductive vampire husband to consummate their marriage with his bite, marking her forever.  Alone in a secluded estate with her sworn enemy, Blu curses the marriage arranged to bring their rival nations together, especially since Creed Saint-Pierre calls out to her most feral desires.
When Blu uncovers her pack’s secret plot to destroy the vampire nation – and Creed – she is forced to confront her growing feelings for her sexy undead husband.  Will she choose the only life she’s ever known or accept his vampire bite?

Review – An arranged marriage is set up between Blu, a werewolf princess, and Creed, a vampire tribe leader, in an attempt to bring together the two warring species in peace.  The two groups have hated each other for centuries and neither Blu or Creed are happy to be the sacrificial lambs.  The peace treaty, however, is as much a sham as the marriage as both the werewolf packs and vampire tribes have made plans to attack the other side.  But then something happens that nobody expected – Blu and Creed fall head over heels in love with each other.  This makes them determined to bring about the peace that was supposed to happen as a result of their union.  However, it is going to take a lot of persuading to get both sides to agree to drop their plans of attack and forget about the hate that they have harboured for each other for many hundreds of years.
Blu is a great character.  She comes across as strong, funny and sarcastic, and she always knows exactly what she wants.  What I love most about her though is the vulnerability that is hiding just below the surface of all of this.  She is a rare werewolf female who has been abused at the hands of her father all of her life.  Although her trust in men has been shattered, she doesn’t let this hold her back and she is definitely a survivor.
But I think my favourite character in this book is Creed.  He is a 900 year-old vampire warrior who has killed many a werewolf during his years.  However, he treats Blu with respect and kindness right from the beginning, even though he sees her as the enemy.  As he starts to fall in love with her, it becomes obvious he would lay his life on the line for her and is willing to change his ways and the beliefs that he has held for centuries in order to keep his wife happy.
Although the pair of them are polar opposites; with Blu being loud, racy and fun-loving, and Creed being an old-fashioned gentleman with a liking for killing werewolves; the relationship between the two totally works for me.  They completely accept each other for their differences and end up bringing out the best of each other.  There is also a lot of sexual chemistry between the two of them and this helps to strengthen their relationship.  Creed is the first man that Blu has ever trusted and he is determined not to hurt her in order to keep this trust.
I really enjoyed the story and found it had a good balance between romance and action.  The first half of the book seems to focus on the developing relationship between Blu and Creed, whilst the second half focuses on them trying to find a way to solve the problems between the vampires and werewolves.  The book moves along at a good pace and during the second half I was completely gripped and hoping that they would find a way to bring about peace between the two groups.

Other books in the series:
1. The Highwayman
2. Moon Kissed
2.1. After The Kiss
2.2. Vampire’s Tango

 

Publisher – Mira Books
Publication Date – 17th July 2009
Paperback – 512 pages
Genre – Fantasy
Series– Book 1 in the Glass Series

Source – Library

Book information - Untrained.  Untested.  Unleashed.  With her unique magical abilities, Opal has always felt unsure of her place at Sitia’s magic academy.  But when the Stormdancer clan needs help, Opal’s knowledge makes her the perfect choice – until the mission goes awry.  Pulling her powers in unfamiliar directions, Opal finds herself tapping into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening.  Now Opal must deal with plotters out to destroy the Stormdancer clan, as well as a traitor in their midst.  With danger and deception rising around her, will Opal’s untested abilities destroy her – or save them all?

Review – Opal is a glass maker and is able to use her magic in order to create glass animals that allow magicians to communicate with each other across Sitia.  However, this seems to be her only magical talent, and she has been named a One-Trick-Wonder by all the other students at the Keep, Sitia’s magic academy, so she is surprised to be called in to help on a mission by the master magicians.
The Stormdancer clan uses special glass orbs to capture a storm’s energy, so that they can then be used as a power source.  However, these orbs suddenly start to shatter, killing any members of the stormdancer clan that are nearby.  It is up to Opal, and Master Cowan, to find out why these orbs are shattering and correct the problem before the big storms arrive.  To do this, Opal has to find out the special ingredients used to make these orbs, but this is information usually only known by a select few.  But someone else wants to know the recipe so that they can start to harvest precious storm energy and they are willing to do anything to find out this information.  When the other glass makers with this knowledge start falling prey to a murderer, Opal knows that her life is in danger.
I have been wanting to read this book for a while and have read a lot of good reviews about it, so I really wanted to like it.  But, it just was not my kind of book.  It’s not that I actively disliked it, I just didn’t feel much either way for it.  I haven’t read any of the Study series and there were lots of references to events that happened in those books.  Although this is a seperate series I felt like I should have read the Study books first to have a better background knowledge of Opal and her surroundings.
I did like the character of Opal but at times I found her to be slightly irritating.  She seems to be quite happy to allow events to just sweep her along and she has very little belief in herself or her talents.  And I don’t like the fact that she gets together with Ulrick because it is the easy option, even though she really wants to be with Kade.  However, I do like her more towards the end of the book when she starts to take matters into her own hands and stops being such a victim of circumstance.  By the end of the book she is a much stronger character – someone who knows her own mind and is willing to work to get what she wants.
It is the first fantasy book that I have read and I just think that it is not a genre that agrees with me.  The descriptions of Opal’s world didn’t hold much appeal for me and I found that some of the events were a little bit outside the realm of my own imagination.

Other books in the series:
1. Storm Glass
2. Sea Glass
3. Spy Glass (September 2010)

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB over at Should Be Reading.

Here’s what you have to do:

1. Grab your current read.

2. Open to a random page.

3. Share two (2) teaser sentences from somewhere on that page.

4. Be careful not to include spoilers.

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the books to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from A Girl’s Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister:

“Gin makes me brilliant.”
“No, Joy, you just THINK gin makes you brilliant.  Gin makes you sotted. Chocolate makes you brilliant.”
Page 1

What is your Tuesday Teaser?